ERISA § 4231 (29 U.S.C. § 1411)

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Mergers and transfers between multiemployer plans

USC 2013 ed., current through 2014-01-16 · superseded Jan 5, 2015 · last amended by Pub. L. 96-364

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(a) Authority of plan sponsor Unless otherwise provided in regulations prescribed by the corporation, a plan sponsor may not cause a multiemployer plan to merge with one or more multiemployer plans, or engage in a transfer of assets and liabilities to or from another multiemployer plan, unless such merger or transfer satisfies the requirements of subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Criteria A merger or transfer satisfies the requirements of this section if—

(1) in accordance with regulations of the corporation, the plan sponsor of a multiemployer plan notifies the corporation of a merger with or transfer of plan assets or liabilities to another multiemployer plan at least 120 days before the effective date of the merger or transfer;

(2) no participant's or beneficiary's accrued benefit will be lower immediately after the effective date of the merger or transfer than the benefit immediately before that date;

(3) the benefits of participants and beneficiaries are not reasonably expected to be subject to suspension under section 1426 of this title; and

(4) an actuarial valuation of the assets and liabilities of each of the affected plans has been performed during the plan year preceding the effective date of the merger or transfer, based upon the most recent data available as of the day before the start of that plan year, or other valuation of such assets and liabilities performed under such standards and procedures as the corporation may prescribe by regulation.

(c) Actions not deemed violation of section 1106(a) or (b)(2) of this title The merger of multiemployer plans or the transfer of assets or liabilities between multiemployer plans, shall be deemed not to constitute a violation of the provisions of section 1106(a) of this title or section 1106(b)(2) of this title if the corporation determines that the merger or transfer otherwise satisfies the requirements of this section.

(d) Nature of plan to which liabilities are transferred A plan to which liabilities are transferred under this section is a successor plan for purposes of section 1322a(b)(2)(B) of this title.

Source credit, amendments & notes

(Pub. L. 93–406, title IV, §4231, as added Pub. L. 96–364, title I, §104(2), Sept. 26, 1980, 94 Stat. 1244.)

Effective Date

Part effective Sept. 26, 1980, except as specifically provided, see section 1461(e) of this title.

ERISA § 4231 (29 U.S.C. § 1411) — Mergers and transfers between multiemployer plans · USC 2013 ed., current through 2014-01-16 · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=usc29-1411&asof=1995-01-04 · printed Oct 17, 2026

Cited by (code & regs)

29 C.F.R. § 4231.3 Requirements for mergers and transfers.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.12 Request for facilitated merger.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.2 Definitions.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.8 Filing requirements; timing and method of filing.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.4 Preservation of accrued benefits.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.18 Jurisdiction over financial assistance merger.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.1 Purpose and scope.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.6 Plan solvency tests.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.17 PBGC action on a request for facilitated merger.
ERISA § 408 (29 U.S.C. § 1108) Exemptions from prohibited transactions
29 C.F.R. § 4231.9 Notice of merger or transfer.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.5 Valuation requirement.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.6 Partition information.
ERISA § 4235 (29 U.S.C. § 1415) Transfers pursuant to change in bargaining repres…
29 C.F.R. § 4231.10 Request for compliance determination.

PBGC Regulations

29 C.F.R. § 4231.1 Purpose and scope.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.2 Definitions.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.3 Requirements for mergers and transfers.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.4 Preservation of accrued benefits.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.5 Valuation requirement.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.6 Plan solvency tests.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.7 De minimis mergers and transfers.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.8 Filing requirements; timing and method of filing.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.9 Notice of merger or transfer.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.10 Request for compliance determination.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.11 Actuarial calculations and assumptions.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.12 Request for facilitated merger.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.13 Plan information for financial assistance merger.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.14 Description of financial assistance merger.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.15 Actuarial and financial information for financial assistance merger.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.16 Participant census data for financial assistance merger.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.17 PBGC action on a request for facilitated merger.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.18 Jurisdiction over financial assistance merger.

Guidance addressing this section

PBGC

Final Rules

83 FR 46642 Sep 14, 2018 — Mergers and Transfers Between Multiemployer Plans (a)(a)(1)(a)(2)(a)(3)(i)(a)(3)(ii)(a)(4)
79 FR 30459 May 28, 2014 — Multiemployer Plans; Valuation and Notice Requirements (a)(b)(f)

Proposed Rules

81 FR 36229Proposed Jun 6, 2016 — Mergers and Transfers Between Multiemployer Plans Comments due Aug 5, 2016 (1)(a)(a)(1)(a)(2)(a)(3)(i)(a)(3)(ii)
79 FR 4642Proposed Jan 29, 2014 — Multiemployer Plans; Valuation and Notice Requirements Comments due Mar 31, 2014 (a)(b)(f)

Also cited in 5 other documents

PBGC

Final Rules

87 FR 40968 Jul 8, 2022 — Special Financial Assistance by PBGC (a)(e)(f)
86 FR 36598 Jul 12, 2021 — Special Financial Assistance by PBGC (a)(e)(f)
80 FR 54980 Sep 11, 2015 — Reportable Events and Certain Other Notification Requirements
80 FR 35220 Jun 19, 2015 — Partitions of Eligible Multiemployer Plans

Proposed Rules

78 FR 20039Proposed Apr 3, 2013 — Reportable Events and Certain Other Notification Requirements Comments due Jun 3, 2013

No court rulings in the library cite this provision yet.

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Each row is a version of the text as published by the official source. Code dates are the edition/release point that first reflected the change; regulation dates are eCFR effective dates. The library checks the official sources automatically, so new versions appear here on their own; “run” opens the sync that recorded a version.

Effective	Through	Source	Amended by
Jan 4, 1995	Jan 4, 2015	USC 2013 ed., current through 2014-01-16 run 13	Pub. L. 96-364	View
Jan 5, 2015	Jan 5, 2017	USC 2014 ed., current through 2015-01-05 run 14	Pub. L. 113-235	View · Redline (sign in)
Jan 6, 2017	current	USC 2024 ed., current through 2025-01-06 run 1	Pub. L. 113-235	View · Redline (sign in)

Provision-level history (blame)